Kitchens at any busy restaurant tend to be fast-paced, stressful and full of insanely creative people.

Perhaps that’s why restaurant staff are notorious for pulling practical jokes on each other. Plus, with so much food and equipment at their disposal, it’s easy for kitchen staff to find ways to make another person the object of humiliation.

But whatever the case, I wanted to share some of the funniest restaurant prank stories I could find, culled from the underbelly of online kitchen staff forums. Think about these the next time you go out to eat.

The New Guy Pranks

Chief among the most likely victim of a hilarious kitchen prank is the “new guy.” Or, as many cooks like to call him, the “FNG.” (I trust you can figure out what that stands for.)

Perhaps the cruelest are requests that he or she find a tool or ingredient that doesn’t exist, perhaps even needing to travel to a nearby restaurant to borrow one. Watch as he asks for any of these:

Also classic are the pointless, hopeless, and impossible tasks. Kitchen staff have been known to spend hours doing the following:

Empty the hot water from the coffee station. (Keep in mind these brewers are directly connected to the plumbing)

Fishing the “spice sack” from the bottom of a 16 liter bucket of pickles

Giving the new guy a knife, cutting board, and flour. Telling him the flour sifter is broken: “The dish guy was so oblivious that he happily started chopping up the pile of flour, thinking he’s helping out. We let him go at it for at least a half an hour.”

“My fellow Sous Chef sent two cocky apprentices out to gather buckets of snow to make ‘Snowflake Soup’ in the Steam kettle.”

Oh, and let’s not forget cases of teaching the wrong lesson, which may be repeated by waiters to customers:

Explaining to a new waiter that “limes are yellow when they fully ripen on the tree, they are only green as a marketing tool for the fruit to differentiate them from lemons.”

Convincing a new waitress she needs to press all four “secret security buttons” to exit a walk-in fridge. “It was weeks before anyone told her as it was just so funny watching her do it even when she was in a hurry.”

These are clever jokes pulled on waiters, cooks, and others grabbing a bite or a drink during their shift.

“At our place, Chef would knock the used espresso grounds out of the machine in a perfect puck. He’d chill it, enrobe it with chocolate and then ask the FNG if they wanted to try our new ‘mini chocolate cakes.’”

This one comes with no story, but sounds excellent: “Crisco for ice cream, looks super realistic when garnished.”

Share this:

Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Washington, DC and North Carolina. All three places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. Johnna is currently airing on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host.

Share this:

If you like bacon and/or bourbon, this is the week to get out and have all that your heart desires. See deets below: The Washington City Paper will hold its annual Bacon & Bourbon whiskey festival at the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain on Thursday, December 8th. Guests are invited to taste their way through more […]

Share this:

Struggling to figure out what to get the foodie in your life? Dean & Deluca, king’s of this food grocer game, are making it easy for you this holiday season. On Thursday, December 8th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Dean & DeLuca invites guests to browse and shop the store’s gifting options, discover new […]